Daguerreotypes

History

Photography was announced 161 years ago, in 1839, by Louis J. M. Daguerre. The
French government awarded him a lifetime pension in return for his teaching the
world how to make daguerreotypes. Daguerreotypes were made that same year in
American and enthusiasm for the invention swept the country. Edgar Allan Poe
commented in January 1840: "The instrument itself must undoubtedly be
regarded as the most important, and perhaps the most extraordinary triumph of
modern science." People marveled at the detail captured by the
camera. In the same article Poe wrote: "For, in truth, the
Daguerreotyped plate is infinitely (we use the term advisedly) is infinitely
more accurate in its representation than any painting by human hands."

Before photography, only the wealthy could afford portraits to create lasting
representations of their loved ones. The daguerreotype answered this need and
the vast majority made were portraits. More daguerreotypes were made in America
than anywhere else, probably because America had a sizeable middle class that
could afford to have one made.

Most of the portraits show dignified, serious looking people. Partially this
was the style of the times, but there were also technical and economic reasons.
Exposure times were long: it is much easier to hold still for several tens of
seconds with a composed expression. The typical price of a daguerreotype was
several dollars, which was a significant expenditure for most people.

Daguerreotypes have an attractive and unique appearance. However, the process
was difficult, involved toxic chemicals and daguerreotypes could not be
readily duplicated. Eventually the technology of other photographic processes
improved and the daguerreian era ended. The processes was only popular from
about 1840 to 1860, so almost all daguerreotypes are at least 140 years old.

Examples

You can see a larger version of any image by clicking on it.

Because of their fragility, daguerreotypes must be protected behind glass. The
American style was to protect the daguerreotype in a book-like case. When
closed (right), the case was a small box with a decorated exterior; when open
(left), the right side displayed the daguerreotype behind glass. This case is
very typical, with a leather exterior with a tooled design. The interior is
slightly unusual in the extent to which the daguerreotypist name is advertised:
"Anson / 589 Broadway / N-Y" on the fabric liner and "Anson",
"Broadway" on the brass mat covering the daguerreotype.

Anson is Rufus P. Anson, who started as a daguerreotypist in 1852 and was
located at 589 Broadway from 1853 to after 1860. The heavy advertising is
probably because "Anson" was one of the large establishments for which
Broadway in New York city was known. It is unlikely that this image was created
by Anson himself--in 1860 he is known to have employed 15 photographers. An
1856 description of his establishment: "Anson's gallery is decidedly
superior. It is most tasteful in its arrangement, and great order and
cleanliness are preserved throughout. The specimens all show the artist's
hand. This gallery deserves the most liberal patronage."

The daguerreotype is a unique photographic medium with a look and feel that
cannot be reproduced in any other form. The image is created on a mirror of
silver. To a very limited extent, this image of two young girls conveys the
appearance of a daguerreotype, perhaps because of the polishing marks visible
in the background. Sadakichi Hartmann gave a good description of the appearance
and viewing of daguerreotypes: "What a strange effect. this silvery
glimmer and mirror-like sheen! Held towards the light, all substance seems to
vanish from the picture; the highlights grow darker than the shadows, and the
image of some gentleman in a stock or some lady in bonnet and puffed sleeves
appears like a ghostlike vision. Yet, as soon as it is moved away from the
light and contemplated from a certain angle, the image reappears, the mere
shadow of a countenance comes to life again."

While people of the time were impressed with the detail rendered by the camera,
they were disappointed that the images were monochrome. Intense efforts were
made to develop color photographs, but the first popular process, the
Autochrome, didn't appear until 1907. What many consider to be the first really
satisfactory solution (Kodachrome) appeared in 1935, almost a century after
photography was invented. Other less popular or less successful methods of
color photography had appeared before but did not gain widespread use. In the
meantime, hand coloring was popular. This daguerreotype has a delicate wash of
colors on the woman's shawl and gold paint on her jewelry. The gold accents
were the most common coloring (were people particularly proud of their
jewelry?) and the first daguerreotype on this page is another example.

Here we have three gentlemen. The mat of the daguerreotype in the left is
stamped "McClees" and "Phila.". This one is the work of James
E. McClees (1821-1887) or an assistant and was probably made between 1857 and
1860 when he had an establishment on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia. The mat
of the image on the right is stamped "Higgins". There were several
daguerreotypists with this name, but this is probably Benjamin L. Higgins since
Craig's Daguerreian
Registry notes that he is know to have stamped mats "Higgins". He
seems to have worked as a daguerreotypist from about 1846 to 1856.

Mother and baby is one of the most traditional subjects of paintings. In this
image the small baby has a large role in the composition because of the size of
its clothes. The blue sheen of the baby's clothes results from overexposure. A
master daguerreotypist would have viewed this as inferior workmanship, but I
find the effect rather attractive. With a typical exposure of ten seconds or
more, the biggest concern of the daguerreotypist was probably that the baby not
move and ruin the exposure. The Mother's bracelet and what appear to be ribbons
near the shoulders of the baby have been hand-colored.

This pair of images occupies facing sides of a case. Either one little girl was
photographed twice, with mother and father, or there were twins. We shall
never know. The case is also less common. Most daguerreotype cases are made of
wood covered with leather. This is a "Union Case", with a attractive
and more deeply molded design. These were the first mass-produced plastic
items and were made from shellac, wood fiber and other ingredients. This
particular design was produced by the Scovill Manufacturing Company from a mold
engraved by Frederick C. Key.

Further Information, References and Sources

The best web-site on daguerreotypes is that of
The Daguerreian Society.
If you are interested in daguerreotypes, you should
join
the society.

The most popular book on the subject is
The Daguerreotype in America by Newhall.

Information about named daguerreotypists is from the
book The American Daguerreotype by Rinehart and Rinehart
and from
Craig's Daguerreian Registry.

The quotations from Edgar Allan Poe are from the 1840 January 15
issue of Alexander's Weekly Messenger. The
essay
is reproduced on the web by the
The Daguerreian Society

The information about the union case is from the
book Union Cases by Krainik, Krainik and Walvoord.
The union case shown above is #475 in that book.

Collecting Advice

Many sellers, either ignorant or unscrupulous, label any photograph in
a small case as a daguerreotype.
A case does not make a photograph into a daguerreotype; tintypes and
ambrotypes were also sold in cases in the 19th century.
A daguerreotype is defined by the process that made it and is readily
identified by its mirror-like appearance at certain angles.
Daguerreotypes have a much higher image quality than ambrotypes and tintypes,
are rarer, and fetch higher prices. If you are unsure of the distinction
between these photographic processes, you should view the wares of
reputable dealers, for example, at a meeting of the Daguerreian Society.

The text and images are copyright 2000 by Michael Briggs.
They are here for you to view and are not to be reproduced.